TENNIS ANYONE? From the 12th century…

The word “Tennis” came into use in English in the mid-13th century from Old French, via the Anglo-Norman Term Tenez. By poet John Gower in his poem titled In Praise of Peace dedicated to King Henry IV and composed in 1400. “Of the tenetz to winne or lese a chase, Mai no lif wite er that the bal be ronne”. (Whether a chase is won or lost at tennis, Nobody can know until the ball is run).

Tennis in Newport, RI

Tennis is mentioned in literature as far back as the Middle Ages. In The Second Shepherd’s Play (c. 1500) shepherds gave three gifts, including a tennis ball, to the newborn Christ. it’s been said that the early tennis balls were made from wool. The Medieval form of tennis is termed as Real Tennis. Real tennis evolved over three centuries from an earlier ball game played around the 12th century in France.

King Henry VIII

Royal interest in England began with Henry V (1413–22).

Henry VIII (1509–47) made the biggest impact as a young monarch; playing the game with gusto at Hampton Court on a court he built in 1530. It is believed that his second wife Anne Boleyn was watching a game when she was arrested and that Henry was playing when news of her execution arrived. During the reign of James I (1603–25), London had 14 courts.

From the royal courts of England and France to centre court at Wimbledon, from Henry VIII to Federer the great, the game of tennis is steeped in history and tradition. The precise origins of tennis are disputed, with some historians dating it back to Ancient Egypt. According to the official website for “Royal Tennis,” the game was played in the fifth century Tuscany in Italy when villagers struck balls in the street with their bare hands. A more definable version was played by European monks, mostly in Italy and later France, in the 12th century, based around a closed courtyard. Francis I of France, who reigned from 1515-47, was reputedly an enthusiastic player and was responsible for the building of many courts and also promoted the sport among a wider cross section of people.

Federer the great

Yale bowl has tennis in New Haven this week. We had tickets and great seats through my good friend, Lorraine. We got there early, had a bite to eat, Ben and Jerry’s low fat Banana Peanut Butter frozen yogurt… OMG. Walked around picking up trinkets and freebies, when just as the matches were scheduled to begin at 7 pm, it began to rain.

Caroline Wazniacki

The ticket holders held their breath. Will it stop raining?

Would they get to see tennis? We all stood huddled under the eaves. Finally… the rain stopped some. Wait again… finally… it stopped. A parade of high schoolers came out with squeegees and began drying the courts. Followed by fifteen leaf-blowers, controlled by fifteen high schoolers, finishing the job, when it began to rain again. This time they used towels as well as blowers to dry the courts. It was fascinating to watch this process. So the first match between Caroline Wazniacki of Denmark and Shuai Peng of China began around 9 pm. Shortly after, they announced the second match of the night was cancelled, and moved to the next day. Ms. Wasniacki was favored to win, but readily lost the first set 6-2. Wasniacki was ahead 3-0 in the second set when Peng called the trainer to her chair. We watched in horror while they took her blood pressure. We are big tennis buffs and had never seen this before. Something was very wrong. No… she got up and went back to play, She was serving, ran up, returned the ball, but bent over, possibly dizzy. She tried serving once more, and won her serve. Next thing we knew, she shook her head, called her opponent over, shook hands and retired from play. Peng announced she could not continue. So we spent about five hours in New Haven and watched less than an hour of tennis. Unexpected entertainment, fun of sorts, or was it sort of fun?

Tennis dryer

William the Conqueror, I wonder if he played tennis? He sure had enough castles to play in. Next week we’ll have a visit there. For now, here’s a fun video to watch if you have a few minutes. Tennis, watch Real Tennis for your enjoyment.

Do you play? What do you ‘love’ about tennis, besides a score of LOVE/40, yours?

Lawn tennis

Mark, a USPTA colleague, sat behind us at Yale…, it was fun to meet a fellow member United States Professional Tennis Association. The USPTA is the largest and most prestigious professional tennis teaching organization in the country. Teaching and playing tennis was a significant part of my life. They had asked me to execute a painting for their 75th Anniversary. It was wonderful to create the watercolor for them.

USPTA Houston, Texas. watercolor by Ingis Claus

16 Comments

Diana Welker
on August 23, 2013 at 6:53 am

Very informative. I played in my much younger years, but had no idea the sport dated so far back. Good piece of information for historical writers.

Hi Màiri, thanks for commenting. It was called Real Tennis. Did you watch the video? The game was played with a hard ball played on all the walls. I tried it once, it was funny, the ball comes so fast it’s hard to hit. At first the ball was hit with hand. According to history, racquets came in the 16th century. Check out the link to a video on my blog. Here’s more history…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tennis.
The father of modern tennis was Walter Clopton Wingfield. Fun facts. Thanks again.

Gail,
I also didn’t know tennis dated that far back. Who would have thunk! I enjoyed your article and will definitely have to use it in a Medieval when I work up to writing them. Thanks for some very interesting reading. I can’t imagine how blasted hot and sweaty the ladies became while playing in their long sleeves and full length dresses. Their poor maids must have had one heck of a time cleaning their smelly garments. Yuck. Thanks again.

Bev, thank you. It’s good to see you back. I hope you continue to heal well. I know it is wonderful to rid yourself of that hip pain. Isn’t it fun to know tennis was a recognized sport in the Medieval era? Because I was involved with the sport in 1971 in interior design school, I knew some history. I was hunting for a painting for one of my school projects and found Henry VIII, and a picture of a19th century woman. I gave my tennis coach the man, and I used the woman to do a petit pointe. I still have it somewhere. Then I had to know stuff for my tennis exam in 1977. Woman only began to play in the 19th century, I think, in those long dresses. Before that, you know, women were considered objects of delight (maybe) and servants. Life is full of surprises, isn’t it?

I teach tennis and play tennis a lot. AND I am thinking about writing a book that takes place in the War of the Roses/Tudors. I didn’t know Henry VIII played tennis… interesting.
That’s too bad Peng had to bow out. I know how hard it is when you’re playing a match and you’re lightheaded, dizzy, or even just tired. I remember last, say, February… It was two against one and I was on my own team. The other two would get to swap out and take a break at each point! I had to call “time out” at least three times as we got closer to the end. I was on the ground, dehydrated, and did not feel good at all. At the last couple points, my Venezuelan coach called a very long pause until I was actually standing. I lost… but that was the most serious match of my life. It’s harder than teaching kids! 🙂

#1 Kid, thank you for the comment. It was too bad for Peng, poor thing. Imagine how she must have looked forward to playing. I felt sad for her. We were horrified when they took her blood pressure. That was not a good sign. I guess for those of us that have spent half our life teaching and playing, we have had days like that. Your serious match sounds like it sure took lots out of you. But I bet you used it as a life experience.

I’m not much of a tennis player, Gail, but I think I’ve told you my mother in-law played with the USPTA for years. She loved the print I got from you and could identify many of the players from your rendition! I had no idea the sport went back so far. Fascinating history:-)

Thanks Paula. Tennis is such an amazing sport. It’s quite cerebral, like playing chess. You must be in good shape, know how to play chess or similar so you don’t get outsmarted. You need good shoes and a good racquet, and be psychic. You must be fair, a good sport, win or lose. It develops character. So, your mother-in-law no doubt played for the USTA, not USPTA. To be accepted into the USPTA (United States Professional Tennis Association), you must take a two day exam, on court and written. When you pass, you are assigned a member number, and certification to teach tennis. The USTA is for players.

Thank you Charl. I get caught up in tennis when its around. The US Open is getting closer, next week, in fact. After the open is finished, tennis is not as prevalent. We enjoy the short tennis season, from January through mid-September, and find it particularly wonderful when we see it live. You know, at the Yale Bowl, the US Open, those are close by, especially the Yale Bowl, only fifteen miles away. Convenient parking, and all those good things. I thought the tie-into tennis history was fun. I actually did a petit-point years ago of a woman fashionably dressed for lawn tennis in the 19th century. Did you watch the video I have on my blog? It’s a link, says “Tennis, watch Real Tennis for your enjoyment.”